Steven Hondrogiannis

The first Orion crew module has begun testing at Lockheed Martin's Space Operations Simulation Center (SOSC) in Denver, Colorado. This 41,000 square foot research facility will test the ability of NASA's next-gen multipurpose exploration spacecraft to safely fly astronauts through the severe environments of deep space. Orion will be phased in as the sun sets on the Space Shuttle Program with the first orbital flight test planned for 2013 and first crewed mission by 2016. Read More

Portable Bluetooth speakerphones that provide a hands-free way for drivers to stay in touch while on the road are nothing new. Nor are voice-controlled Bluetooth speakerphones with text-to-speech capabilities to read out the name of a caller. But the new SuperTooth HD adds a something new for social networking tragics on the go in the form of a SuperTooth Handsfree Assistant feature that allows drivers to compose and send Facebook, Twitter, e-mail and SMS messages, all without taking their hands off the wheel. Read More

Chemists at the University of California are developing a future display technology using nanoscale-sized iron oxide rods that shine when exposed to an external magnetic field. Though in its early stages, the research could pave the way for producing magnetically responsive, ultra high-res displays with significantly reduced dimensions and power demands. Read More

U.S. scientists have developed a new miniature, wearable Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner which enables the simultaneous study of brain function and behavior in animals. PET scans are much like Computed Tomography (CT) scans and have helped uncover the molecular underpinnings of conditions like drug addiction, brain diseases such as dementia and they have been used in the medical imaging of cancers. Read More

Academics from the University of Manchester have developed a process of creating working human muscle tissue from sea squirts. The research holds promise for the engineering of muscles, ligaments and nerves from cellulose which is usually found in plants and is the main component of paper and plant based textiles such as cotton and linen. The creation of muscle from scratch along with the ability to repair existing muscle has the potential to improve the lives of millions of people around the world. Read More

The iPod celebrates its ten year anniversary in 2011. Since its launch on Oct 23rd 2001, six generations of the device have been produced, with more than 300 million units sold of the various iterations. On September 1, 2010 Apple announced updates to the entire iPod line – with the sole exception of the iPod Classic. Some are wondering whether this could mean the end of the product that sparked Apple's resurgence. Read More

Hydrogen has great potential as a clean fuel source for powering our cars and airplanes, but it also poses some big hurdles – in particular, how to store it. Making practical use of hydrogen in gas or liquid form raises difficulties in terms of volume and pressurization – a hydrogen gas tank for a car would need to be around four times larger than current petroleum tanks. Another possible solution is the use of solid state hydrogen and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), along with the University of Glasgow, hope to boost this approach by developing a new storage system using materials modified at the nanoscale that receive and release the hydrogen at a faster rate. Read More

Sometimes you come across a product that makes you sit back and go “FiiK”. In the past we have covered electric skateboards, off road skateboards, even all terrain boards but a combination of fun, tech, design and street cred has always been elusive. Two brothers on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia have managed to meld these elements together with their electric skateboards. The company is called FiiK “Future Is In Knowledge”, a nod to their ongoing design refinement which began over 10 years ago with a small two stroke motor strapped to a skateboard. The product has evolved to a skateboard with a magnetic motor, a digital wireless throttle control system, ABS braking system and a ton of urban chic. Read More

With the Nintendo 3DS release date fast approaching, Nintendo's keynote address at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco was an opportunity to showcase more of what we can expect from the new handheld. The most connected Nintendo device ever released according to company President Satoru Iwata, the 3DS will incorporate Netflix video streaming and gain access to over 10000 AT&T wireless hot spots across the United States. Read More

During the first decade of the 21st century, information and communication technologies (ICTs) came within reach of most of the world's people. As part of World Statistics Day, the United Nations commissioned the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for current data and statistics on ICTs. The resulting report: The World In 2010: ICT Facts and Figures provides an insight into just how phenomenal the growth of ICTs have been over the past few years. Read More